THE HEART OF IT

Segal offers a thoughtful and compelling guide to impact investing.

Partly a memoir but mostly an investment guide, this book weaves together the author’s personal story with his investment philosophy and case studies. That philosophy is “impact investing”—investing that generates both profits and positive social impact. The author had a traditional finance and venture capital career before finding his calling in impact investing, which led him to establish Rethink Capital Partners. The crux of the book is Segal’s “Ten Pillars of Mindful Impact Investing,” which include asking questions such as, “Does the Enterprise Serve All Stakeholders?”; “Is There a Compelling Origin Story?”; “Are You Fully Leveraging Technology?”; “Does the Investment Reflect the Population it Serves?”; “Is the Company a Good Citizen?”; and “Are You Investing in Women?” In discussing his pillars, Segal promotes sustainability, inclusivity, building brands, making societal change with investments (improving education and expanding health care access are used as examples), diversity when it comes to leadership teams, and groups like Rethink Impact, a fund focused, in part, on investing in female founders (Segal is an investment committee member of this fund). The author concludes that impact investing is more than a niche—it’s an evolution of capitalism. Bottom line? Impact investing is a way to restore trust in the financial system while at the same time driving real change. Though the concept of impact investing is not particularly new, Segal’s approach to the topic is refreshing. The standard elements are here, woven into his Ten Pillars, but he combines investment wisdom with storytelling, beginning with a 25-1/2-page memoir—a nicely written intro detailing the people and places that shaped his philosophy. This striking combination of autobiography and how-to makes this a must-read not only for investors but for any entrepreneurs who want to make a difference. Segal provides a blueprint for marrying investments with values, and he makes a convincing case that mindful investing can be both financially rewarding and socially transformative.

An economic how-to that’s also a good read.